Sandusky loses bid for new trial, sentence change

PHILADELPHIA — A judge denied requests by Jerry Sandusky, the ex-Penn State University assistant football coach, to toss out his conviction for child sexual abuse or alter his sentence.

Sandusky, convicted and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison, argued that he had insufficient time to prepare a defense and that prosecutors failed to produce enough evidence to support claims against him. State court Judge John Cleland in Bellefonte, Penn., who oversaw the trial, on Wednesday rejected the ex-coach’s arguments.

“This is simply not a case where trial counsel’s inability to review before trial all of the discovery material produced can be said to have resulted in a ‘structural defect’ that made the lack of a fair trial a virtual certainty,” Cleland said in a written ruling.

Sandusky, 69, was found guilty in June of 45 counts of abusing boys over a 15-year period. He is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Waynesburg, Penn.

At least six lawsuits have been filed by victims over the abuse. Penn State said in September that it plans to compensate Sandusky’s victims with money from insurance policies and funds set aside from interest on internal loans.